Unit 5 – Section A●Language Focus – Words in Use1. The "discipline" message asks people to save, while the "enjoy yourself" message asks people to spend; therefore, they (contradict) each other.2. It is a(n) (paradox) that in some odd way world peace appears to depend on our spending millions of pounds on weapons that can kill us all.3. It is far more effective for parents to allow for the child's (perspective) and let him make his own choice rather than make a decision for him.4. When you are writing any directions for people, you've got to be direct and (explicit) to make everything rightly understood.5. The new teaching program was (suspended) last semester because the teachers in the department protested its demand for more intense work.6. He is a very considerate and generous person, and he is also one of those who can often (derive) pleasure from helping others.7. Many children are addicted to computers, so they often (defy) their parents and play the computer games for hours every day.8. My roommate is always very optimistic, and that's why he still (retains) his good humor after all the setbacks.9. There is a widely held suspicion that the politician, though retired, still has great power and is (manipulating) events behind the scenes.10. The organization has been working with local authorities as well as regional government and officials to (tackle) the problem of climate.●Word Building1.browse2.message3.consumer4.negotiate5.object6.react7.constitute8.cultivate9.define10.expand11.concentration12.civilization1.browser2.messenger3.consume4.negotiation5.objection6.reaction7.constitution8.cultivation9.definition10.expansion11.concentrate12.civilize1. Public opinion was becoming more (concentrated) on environmental pollution problems; more and more people were discussing and arguing about them.2. Martin Luther King is a(n) (messenger) who worked for peace; he has shown the Western world that a struggle can be waged without violence.3. Every man ought not to steal, cheat, or destroy the property of others. There is no place for this sort of behavior in a(n) (civilized) society.4. The right to pursue happiness is promised to Americans by the US (Constitution) , but nowadays no one seems quite sure what exactly is meant by happiness.5. You will need to replace your old (browser) and install a new one. You will need this new software to view web pages.6. Rock music appealed to Sandy so much that she turned up the volume on her player, paying no attention to her father's (objection) .7. As a college student, you should learn things extensively and aim for a(n) (expansion) of knowledge well beyond your area of specialization.8. Because women care much about their appearance and restrict their diet in an effort to control weight, they may not (consume) enough iron-rich food.9. The problem is that most students don't really know the exact (definition) of plagiarism (剽窃) or its consequences, so they don't consider it a serious crime.10. Garden (cultivation) of roses began about 5,000 years ago. They were used at celebrations, for medical purposes, and as a source of perfume.11. The talks next week will focus one economic development of the region and our immediate (reaction) to the ever-worsening condition of the environment.12. The (negotiation) on the trade disputes between the two super large companies went on for years as neither side would give in.●Banked ClozeTo spend or save is a question which many people have. There is always a(n) (1) (dilemma) whether one should spend the money that he has earned or save that money for the future. Well, there is no (2) (explicit) answer to the question as different people have different (3) (perspectives) on their life, and that is the reason why some people tend to spend all the money earned while others (4) (retain) control over their money. People who spend all the money do not think much about the future. The only thing that they enjoy doing most is to (5) (derive) pleasure from spending money. For example, if they like a particular car, mobile phone or laptop, they will buy it without giving it a thought. For them, the most important thing is to satisfy their material (6) (appetite). People who have their first job or who haven't married often fall in this category. In the long run, saving is a good (7) (option) for one's life as saving helps an individual to plan for future (8) (urgent) needs. That is also the reason why many people save money for a rainy day. Individuals who can (9) (suspend) their spending save money successfully. Instead of buying on impulse, they delay their purchasing decision and won't be easily (10) (manipulated) by commercial ads. Individuals who have responsibility for their family belong to this category.●Language Focus – Expressions in Use1. People who work in offices are (referred to) as "white-collar workers" for the simple reason that they traditionally wear a white shirt with a collar and a tie to go to work.2. When the police arrived, he had already destroyed the evidence that was (at odds with) his earlier statement made a few hours ago.3. In order to persuade his daughter to (put off) the marriage, the father quoted statistics showing mixed-race couples had higher divorce rates than same-race couples.4. The mother made the decision to give cough medicine and Aspirin to her sick child without (consulting with) the child's doctor.5. Both professional experts and school teachers say that children tend to (do their utmost) when they see their parents making similar efforts.6. As she entered the most dynamic period of her career, Kylie (took stock of) her success andtried to analyze the strong impact of her college education.7. The chief executive George Grey is confident that current growth levels can be maintained since all the group's development projects stay (on track) .8. It is very important for students to understand and (take in) new information. Besides, they should examine and judge information carefully and then make the right decisions.●Translation●➢英译汉The Age of Discovery, also called the Age of Exploration, is a historical period of European global exploration that started in the early 15th century and continued until the 18th century. It is usually regarded as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era, in the context of emerging western imperialism and economic competition between European kingdoms seeking wealth through the establishment of trade routes and colonies. Among many great explorers during this period, the most outstanding one was Christopher Columbus since he discovered the New World. European overseas expansion led to the rise of colonial empires, with the contact between the Old and New Worlds producing the exchange: a wide transfer of plants, animals, foods, culture, and so forth. This represented one of the most significant global events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in history. European exploration allowed the global mapping of the world, resulting in a new world-view and distant civilizations acknowledging each other.大发现年代，也被称为大勘探年代，是欧洲进行全球勘查的一个历史时期，始于15世纪初并一直持续到18世纪。
关于徐姓的历史和现状调查报告作文优秀回答1:Report on the History and Current Status of the Xu SurnameIntroduction:The Xu surname is one of the most common surnames in China. In this report, we will explore the history and current status of the Xu surname.History:The Xu surname has a long history that dates back to the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC). According to historical records, the Xu surname originated from the state of Xu, which was located in present-day Jiangsu Province. During the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), the Xu surname became more widespread, and many Xu families migrated to other parts of China.During the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), the Xu surname became even more prevalent, and many famous Xu scholars and officials emerged. One of the most famous Xu scholars was Xu Shen, whowas a renowned lexicographer and the author of the Shuowen Jiezi, the first Chinese dictionary.Current Status:According to a survey conducted in 2019, the Xu surname is the 11th most common surname in China, with over 23 million people using the surname. The majority of Xu families are located in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Henan provinces.Many famous people with the Xu surname have made significant contributions to various fields. For example, Xu Beihong was a famous painter, Xu Guangqi was a renowned mathematician and astronomer, and Xu Xiake was a famous geographer and explorer.Conclusion:In conclusion, the Xu surname has a long history and a significant presence in China. Many Xu families have made remarkable contributions to various fields, and the Xu surname is still widely used today.中文回答：关于徐姓的历史和现状调查报告简介：徐姓是中国最常见的姓氏之一。
历史与发展类1.The Development of MuseumsReading Passage 3 has six paragraphs,A—F.Choose the correct heading for paragraphs B—E from the list of headings below.Write the correct number,i—vii,in boxes 27—30 on your answer sheet.【A】The conviction that historical relics provide infallible testimony about the past is rooted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when science was regarded as objective and value free. As one writer observes: ‘Although it is now evident that artefacts are as easily altered as chronicles, public faith in their veracity endures: a tangible relic seems ipso facto real’. Such conviction was, until recently, reflected in museum displays. Museums used to look — and some still do — much like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary visitor, to whom it all looked alike. Similarly, the information accompanying the objects often made little sense to the lay visitor. The content and format of explanations dated back to a time when the museum was the exclusive domain of the scientific researcher.【B】Recently, however, attitudes towards history and the way it should be presented have altered. The key word in heritage display is now ‘experience’, the more exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses. Good examples of this approach in the UK are the Jorvik Centre in York; the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford; and the Imperial War Museum in London. In the US the trend emerged much earlier: Williamsburg has been a prototype for many heritage developments in other parts of the world. No one can predict where the process will end. On so-called heritage sites the re-enactment of historical events is increasingly popular, and computers will soon provide virtual reality experiences, which will present visitors with a vivid image of the period of their choice, in which they themselves can act as if part of the historical environment. Such developments have been criticized as an intolerable vulgarization, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion.【C】In a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is gradually evaporating. They already borrow ideas and concepts from one another. For example, museums have adopted story lines for exhibitions, sites have accepted ‘theming’ as a relevant tool, and theme parks are moving towards more authenticity and research-based presentations. In zoos, animals are no longer kept in cages, but in great spaces, either in the open air or in enormous greenhouses, such as the jungle and desert environments in Burgers’ Zoo in Holland. This particular trend is regarded as one of the major developments in the presentation of natural history in the twentieth century.【D】Theme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy. This development is a response to market forces and, although museums and heritage sites have a special, rather distinct, role to fulfil, they are also operating in a very competitive environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free time. Heritage and museum experts do not have to invent stories and recreate historical environments to attract their visitors: their assets are already in place. However, exhibits must be both based on artefactsand facts as we know them, and attractively presented. Those who are professionally engaged in the art of interpreting history are thus in difficult position, as they must steer a narrow course between the demands of ‘evidence’ and ‘attractiveness’, especially given the increasing need in the heritage industry for income-generating activities.【E】It could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more ‘real’, historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. For example, Pithecanthropus erectus is depicted in an Indonesian museum with Malay facial features, because this corresponds to public perceptions. Similarly, in the Museum of Natural History in Washington, Neanderthal man is shown making a dominant gesture to his wife. Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the world than about our ancestors. There is one compensation, however, for the professionals who make these interpretations: if they did not provide the interpretation, visitors would do it for themselves, based on their own ideas, misconceptions and prejudices. And no matter how exciting the result, it would contain a lot more bias than the presentations provided by experts.【F】Human bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. The simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process. Castles, palaces and cathedrals have a longer lifespan than the dwellings of ordinary people. The same applies to the furnishing and other contents of the premises. In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden. In most of the houses several families lived together in circumstances beyond our imagination. Yet in museums, fine period rooms give only an image of the lifestyle of the upper class of that era. No wonder that people who stroll around exhibitions are filled with nostalgia; the evidence in museums indicates that life was so much better in past. This notion is induced by the bias in its representation in museums and heritage centres.•27Paragraph B•28Paragraph C•29Paragraph D•30Paragraph E2.A Chronicle of TimekeepingOur conception of time depends on the way we measure itReading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs,A-H.Which paragraph contains the following information?Write the correct letter,A-H, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.【A】According to archaeological evidence, at least 5,000 years ago, and long before the advent of the Roman Empire, the Babylonians began to measure time, introducing calendars to co-ordinate communal activities, to plan the shipment of goods and, in particular, to regulate planting and harvesting. They based their calendars on three natural cycles: the solar day, marked by the successive periods of light and darkness as the earth rotates on its axis; the lunar month, following the phases of the moon as it orbits the earth;and the solar year, defined by the changing seasons that accompany our planet's revolution around the sun.【B】Before the invention of artificial light, the moon had greater social impact. And, for those living near the equator in particular, its waxing and waning was more conspicuous than the passing of the seasons. Hence, the calendars that were developed at the lower latitudes were influenced more by the lunar cycle than by the solar year. In more northern climes, however, where seasonal agriculture was practised, the solar year became more crucial. As the Roman Empire expanded northward, it organised its activity chart for the most part around the solar year.【C】Centuries before the Roman Empire, the Egyptians had formulated a municipal calendar having 12 months of 30 days, with five days added to approximate the solar year.Each period of ten days was marked by the appearance of special groups of stars called decans. At the rise of the star Sirius just before sunrise, which occurred around the all-important annual flooding of the Nile, 12 decans could be seen spanning the heavens. The cosmic significance the Egyptians placed in the 12 decans led them to develop a system in which each interval of darkness (and later, each interval of daylight) was divided into a dozen equal parts. These periods became known as temporal hours because their duration varied according to the changing length of days and nights with the passing of the seasons. Summer hours were long, winter ones short; only at the spring and autumn equinoxes were the hours of daylight and darkness equal. Temporal hours, which were first adopted by the Greeks and then the Romans, who disseminated them through Europe, remained in use for more than 2,500 years.【D】In order to track temporal hours during the day, inventors created sundials, which indicate time by the length or direction of the sun's shadow. The sundial's counterpart, the water clock, was designed to measure temporal hours at night. One of the first water clockswas a basin with a small hole near the bottom through which the water dripped out. The falling water level denoted the passing hour as it dipped below hour lines inscribed on the inner surface. Although these devices performed satisfactorily around the Mediterranean, they could not always be depended on in the cloudy and often freezing weather of northern Europe.【E】The advent of the mechanical clock meant that although it could be adjusted to maintain temporal hours, it was naturally suited to keeping equal ones. With these, however, arose the question of when to begin counting, and so, in the early 14th century, a number of systems evolved. The schemes that divided the day into 24 equal parts varied according to the start of the count: Italian hours began at sunset, Babylonian hours at sunrise, astronomical hours at midday and 'great clock' hours, used for some large public clocks in Germany, at midnight. Eventually these were superseded by 'small clock', or French, hours, which split the day into two 12-hour periods commencing at midnight.【F】The earliest recorded weight-driven mechanical clock was built in 1283 in Bedfordshire in England. The revolutionary aspect of this new timekeeper was neither the descending weight that provided its motive force nor the gear wheels (which had been around for at least 1,300 years) that transferred the power; it was the part called the escapement. In the early 1400s came the invention of the coiled spring or fusee which maintained constant force to the gear wheels of the timekeeper despite the changing tension of its mainspring. By the 16th century, a pendulum clock had been devised, but the pendulum swung in a large arc and thus was not very efficient.【G】To address this, a variation on the original escapement was invented in 1670, in England. It was called the anchor escapement, which was a lever-based device shaped like a ship's anchor. The motion of a pendulum rocks this device so that it catches and then releases each tooth of the escape wheel, in turn allowing it to turn a precise amount. Unlike the original form used in early pendulum clocks, the anchor escapement permitted the pendulum to travel in a very small arc. Moreover, this invention allowed the use of a long pendulum which could beat once a second and thus led to the development of a new floor-standing case design, which became known as the grandfather clock.【H】Today, highly accurate timekeeping instruments set the beat for most electronic devices. Nearly all computers contain a quartz-crystal clock to regulate their operation. Moreover, not only do time signals beamed down from Global Positioning System satellites calibrate the functions of precision navigation equipment, they do so as well for mobile phones, instant stock-trading systems and nationwide power-distribution grids. So integral have these time-based technologies become to day-to-day existence that our dependency on them is recognised only when they fail to work.1 a description of an early timekeeping invention affected by cold temperatures2 an explanation of the importance of geography in the development of the calendar in farming communities3 a description of the origins of the pendulum clock4 details of the simultaneous efforts of different societies to calculate time using3.MAKING EVERY DROP COUNTReading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs,A-H.Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A and C-H from the list of headings below.Write the correct number,i-xi, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.【A】The history of human civilisation is entwined with the history of the ways we have learned to manipulate water resources. As towns gradually expanded, water was brought from increasingly remote sources, leading to sophisticated engineering efforts such as dams and aqueducts. At the height of the Roman Empire, nine major systems, with an innovative layout of pipes and well-built sewers, supplied the occupants of Rome with as much water per person as is provided in many parts of the industrial world today.【B】During the industrial revolution and population explosion of the 19th and 20th centuries, the demand for water rose dramatically. Unprecedented construction of tens of thousands of monumental engineering projects designed to control floods, protect clean water supplies, and provide water for irrigation and hydropower brought great benefits to hundreds of millions of people. Food production has kept pace with soaring populations mainly because of the expansion of artificial irrigation systems that make possible the growth of 40 % of the world’s food. Nearly one fifth of all the electricity generated worldwide is produced by turbines spun by the power of falling water.【C】Yet there is a dark side to this picture: despite our progress, half of the world’s population still suffers, with water services inferior to those available to the ancient Greeks and Romans. As the United Nations report on access to water reiterated in November 2001, more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water; some two and a half billion do not have adequate sanitation services. Preventable water-related diseases kill an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children every day, and the latest evidence suggests that we are falling behind in efforts to solve these problems.【D】The consequences of our water policies extend beyond jeopardising human health.Tens of millions of people have been forced to move from their homes — often with little warning or compensation — to make way for the reservoirs behind dams. More than 20 % of all freshwater fish species are now threatened or endangered because dams and water withdrawals have destroyed the free-flowing river ecosystems where they thrive. Certain irrigation practices degrade soil quality and reduce agricultural productivity. Groundwater aquifers* are being pumped down faster than they are naturally replenished in parts of India, China, the USA and elsewhere. And disputes over shared water resources have led to violence and continue to raise local, national and even international tensions.【E】At the outset of the new millennium, however, the way resource planners think about water is beginning to change. The focus is slowly shifting back to the provision of basic human and environmental needs as top priority — ensuring ‘some for all,’ instead of ‘more for some’. Some water experts are now demanding that existing infrastructure be used in smarter ways rather than building new facilities, which is increasingly considered the option of last, not first, resort. This shift in philosophy has not been universally accepted, and it comes with strong opposition from some established water organisations. Nevertheless, it may be the only way to address successfully the pressing problems of providing everyone with clean water to drink, adequate water to grow food and a life free from preventable water-related illness.【F】Fortunately— and unexpectedly — the demand for water is not rising as rapidly as some predicted. As a result, the pressure to build new water infrastructures has diminished over the past two decades. Although population, industrial output and economic productivity have continued to soar in developed nations, the rate at which people withdraw water from aquifers, rivers and lakes has slowed. And in a few parts of the world, demand has actually fallen.【G】What explains this remarkable turn of events? Two factors: people have figured out how to use water more efficiently, and communities are rethinking their priorities for water use. Throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century, the quantity of freshwater consumed per person doubled on average; in the USA, water withdrawals increased tenfold while the population quadrupled. But since 1980, the amount of water consumed per person has actually decreased, thanks to a range of new technologies that help to conserve water in homes and industry. In 1965, for instance, Japan used approximately 13 million gallons* ofwater to produce $1 million of commercial output; by 1989 this had dropped to 3.5 million gallons (even accounting for inflation) — almost a quadrupling of water productivity. In the USA, water withdrawals have fallen by more than 20 % from their peak in 1980.【H】On the other hand, dams, aqueducts and other kinds of infrastructure will still have to be built, particularly in developing countries where basic human needs have not been met. But such projects must be built to higher specifications and with more accountability to local people and their environment than in the past. And even in regions where new projects seem warranted, we must find ways to meet demands with fewer resources, respecting ecological criteria and to a smaller budget.*underground stores of water*1 gallon: 4.546 litres•14Paragraph A•15Paragraph C•16Paragraph D•17Paragraph E•18Paragraph F•19Paragraph G•20Paragraph H4.Reading Passage 1 has ten paragraphs,A-J.Which paragraph contains the following information?Write the correct letter,A-J, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.【A】The Lumiere Brothers opened their Cinematographe, at 14 Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, to 100 paying customers over 100 years ago, on December 8, 1895. Before the eyes of the stunned, thrilled audience, photographs came to life and moved across a flat screen.【B】So ordinary and routine has this become to us that it takes a determined leap of the imagination to grasp the impact of those first moving images. But it is worth trying, for to understand the initial shock of those images is to understand the extraordinary power and magic of cinema, the unique, hypnotic quality that has made film the most dynamic, effective art form of the 20th century.【C】One of the Lumiere Brothers’ earliest films was a 30-second piece which showed a section of a railway platform flooded with sunshine. A train appears and heads straight for the camera. And that is all that happens. Yet the Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, one of the greatest of all film artists, described the film as a ‘work of genius’. ‘As the train approached,’ wrote Tarkovsky, ‘panic started in the theatre: people jumped and ran away. That was the moment when cinema was born. The frightened audience could not accept that they were watching a mere picture. Pictures were still, only reality moved; this must, therefore, be reality. In their confusion, they feared that a real train was about to crush them.’【D】Early cinema audiences often experienced the same confusion. In time, the idea of film became familiar, the magic was accepted — but it never stopped being magic. Film has never lost its unique power to embrace its audiences and transport them to a different world. For Tarkovsky, the key to that magic was the way in which cinema created a dynamic image of the real flow of events. A still picture could only imply the existence of time, while time in a novel passed at the whim of the reader. But in cinema, the real, objective flow of time was captured.【E】One effect of this realism was to educate the world about itself. For cinema makes the world smaller. Long before people travelled to America or anywhere else, they knew what other places looked like; they knew how other people worked and lived. Overwhelmingly, the livesrecorded — at least in film fiction — have been American. From the earliest days of the industry, Hollywood has dominated the world film market. American imagery — the cars, the cities, the cowboys — became the primary imagery of film. Film carried American life and values around the globe.【F】And, thanks to film, future generations will know the 20th century more intimately than any other period. We can only imagine what life was like in the 14th century or in classical Greece. But the life of the modern world has been recorded on film in massive, encyclopedic detail. We shall be known better than any preceding generations.【G】The ‘star’ was another natural consequence of cinema. The cinema star was effectively born in 1910. Film personalities have such an immediate presence that, inevitably, they become super-real. Because we watch them so closely and because everybody in the world seems to know who they are, they appear more real to us than we do ourselves. The star as magnified human self is one of cinema’s most strange and enduring legacies.【H】Cinema has also given a new lease of life to the idea of the story. When the Lumiere Brothers and other pioneers began showing off this new invention, it was by no means obvious how it would be used. All that mattered at first was the wonder of movement. Indeed, some said that, once this novelty had worn off, cinema would fade away. It was no more than a passing gimmick, a fairground attraction.【I】Cinema might, for example, have become primarily a documentary form. Or it might have developed like television—as a strange, noisy transfer of music, information and narrative. But what happened was that it became, overwhelmingly, a medium for telling stories. Originally these were conceived as short stories—early producers doubted the ability of audiences to concentrate for more than the length of a reel. Then, in 1912, an Italian 2-hour film was hugely successful, and Hollywood settled upon the novel-length narrative that remains the dominant cinematic convention of today.【J】And it has all happened so quickly. Almost unbelievably, it is a mere 100 years since that train arrived and the audience screamed and fled, convinced by the dangerous reality of what they saw, and, perhaps, suddenly aware that the world could never be the same again—that, maybe, it could be better, brighter, more astonishing, more real than reality.1 the location of the first cinema2 how cinema came to focus on stories3 the speed with which cinema has changed4 how cinema teaches us about other cultures5 the attraction of actors in films5.NumerationComplete each sentence with the correct ending A-G, below.Write the correct letter,A-G, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.One of the first great intellectual feats of a young child is learning how to talk, closely followed by learning how to count. From earliest childhood we are so bound up with our system of numeration that it is a feat of imagination to consider the problems faced by early humans who had not yet developed this facility. Careful consideration of our system of numeration leads to the conviction that, rather than being a facility that comes naturally to a person, it is one of the great and remarkable achievements of the human race.It is impossible to learn the sequence of events that led to our developing the concept of number. Even the earliest of tribes had a system of numeration that, if not advanced, was sufficient for the tasks that they had to perform. Our ancestors had little use for actual numbers; instead their considerations would have been more of the kind Is this enough? rather than How many? when they were engaged in food gathering, for example. However, when early humans first began to reflect on the nature of things around them, they discovered that they needed an idea of number simply to keep their thoughts in order. As they began to settle, grow plants and herd animals, the need for a sophisticated number system became paramount. It will never be known how and when this numeration ability developed, but it is certain that numeration was well developed by the time humans had formed even semi-permanent settlements.Evidence of early stages of arithmetic and numeration can be readily found. The indigenous peoples of Tasmania were only able to count one, two, many; those of South Africa counted one,two, two and one, two twos, two twos and one, and so on. But in real situations the number and words are often accompanied by gestures to help resolve any confusion. For example, when using the one, two, many type of system, the word many would mean,Look at my hands and see how many fingers I am showing you. This basic approach is limited in the range of numbers that it can express, but this range will generally suffice when dealing with the simpler aspects of human existence.The lack of ability of some cultures to deal with large numbers is not really surprising. European languages, when traced back to their earlier version, are very poor in number words and expressions. The ancient Gothic word for ten, tachund, is used to express the number 100 as tachundtachund. By the seventh century, the word teon had become interchangeable with the tachund or hund of the Anglo-Saxon language, and so 100 was denoted as hundteontig, or ten times ten. The average person in the seventh century in Europe was not as familiar with numbers as we are today. In fact, to qualify as a witness in a court of law a man had to be able to count to nine!Perhaps the most fundamental step in developing a sense of number is not the ability to count, but rather to see that a number is really an abstract idea instead of a simple attachment to a group of particular objects. It must have been within the grasp of the earliest humans to conceive that four birds are distinct from two birds; however, it is not an elementary step to associate the number 4, as connected with four birds, to the number 4, as connected with four rocks. Associating a number as one of the qualities of a specific object is a great hindrance to the development of a true number sense. When the number 4 can be registered in the mind as a specific word, independent of the object being referenced, the individual is ready to take the first step toward the development of a notational system for numbers and, from there, to arithmetic.Traces of the very first stages in the development of numeration can be seen in several living languages today. The numeration system of the Tsimshian language in British Columbia contains seven distinct sets of words for numbers according to the class of the item being counted: for counting flat objects and animals, for round objects and time, for people, for long objects and trees, for canoes, for measures, and for counting when no particular object is being numerated. It seems that the last is a later development while the first six groups show the relics of an older system. This diversity of number names can also be found in some widely used languages such as Japanese.Intermixed with the development of a number sense is the development of an ability to count. Counting is not directly related to the formation of a number concept because it is possible to count by matching the items being counted against a group of pebbles, grains of corn, or the counter’s fingers. These aids would have been indispensable to very early people who would have found the process impossible without some form of mechanical aid. Such aids, while different, are still used even by the most educated in today’s society due to their convenience. All counting ultimately involves reference to something other than the things being counted. At first it may have been grains or pebbles but now it is a memorised sequence of words that happen to be the names of the numbers.27 A developed system of numbering28 An additional hand signal29 In seventh-century Europe, the ability to count to a certain number30 Thinking about numbers as concepts separate from physical objects31 Expressing number differently according to class of item。
